Mango Mango Mango Sampler: Purchased from the St. Mark's location of asian-dessert-chain Mango Mango, this platter contains a sampling of three different desserts. The first was starchy and slightly too firm glutinous rice balls paired with fresh mango fruit (the latter of which was ripe and sweet). The next was lychee jelly (very sweet and similar to the type you would expect to be at the bottom of a bubble tea) and a scoop of mango ice cream, which was a tad creamy and did not tasting distinctively of mango. The ... (read more)3.5/5.0

Banh Mi Saigon Mochi bread dessert: First time trying non-sandwich options at Vietnamese bakery Banh Mi Saigon in Chinatown. This spongey bread has an aerated mochi-like texture that’s lighter than Korean mochi bread. It comes in a sizeable half roll, with a green interior (I think unrelated to its flavor, as the dessert just tasted faintly of brown sugar to me). Exterior is a bit like a baked muffin top. There wasn’t any labeling on the packaging, so if anyone is able to clarify the exact name of this dessert, it would be muc... (read more)3.5/5.0

Matcha Cafe Maiko Matcha soft serve with matcha powder and mochi: According to the Matcha Cafe Maiko website, the San Francisco shop located in the Japantown center is the first to open in the "American mainland," with an original location in Hawaii. Its matcha products are imported all the way from Harima Garden in Kyoto. While the menu features their matcha soft serve, they have a surprising variety of lattes, floats, and other beverage pairings as well. At $5.50, their soft serve is a bit steep for a single serving, but it has a concentrated herbal f... (read more)3.5/5.0

Minamoto Kitchoan Green tea mochi: Minamoto Kitchoan is a Japanese sweets shop that is one of my favorite places to purchase gifts. This was a box gifted to me, containing a set of green tea mochi with red bean filling. Matcha is both mixed into the glutinous rice “pouch” but also dusted as a coating, giving the dessert a slightly bitter flavor that balances well with the sweet red bean paste. This is not my favorite mochi, but it’s definitely solid. 3.0/5.0

Bhan Kanom Thai Pangchi: Pangchi is a bite-sized sticky rice pancake cooked on the griddle, giving it a crispy crust on both sides and mochi-like interior mixed with corn. While not captured in this photograph, panchi are actually lilac in color. Mochi is my favorite snack, and this take on crispy mochi was eye opening and delicious. A perfect bite. Purchased from the Thai dessert specialty store Bhan Kanom Thai in LA. 4.5/5.0

Powder Ube shaved ice with mochi and condensed milk: This is the third flavor I've had from Powder, a Taiwanese shaved ice shop in San Francisco. The first, black sesame, was excellent, with a light texture but creamy flavor. The second, matcha, had a great green tea flavor but was more dense in texture. This last one was, unfortunately, the worst texturally, which is apparent from just the image itself - the starchy potato may have made it harder to achieve the same airy consistency that the black sesame ice had. Ube is a seasonal summer ... (read more)3.0/5.0